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CNN Live Saturday

Interview With Steve Crist

Aired June 07, 2003 - 18:05   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN ANCHOR: Before you go to the window or onto the web and plunk down money for Funny Cide, you might want to hear from an expert first. Steve Crist is chairman and publisher of "The Daily Racing Form". He's been following the ponies for 25 years, since the last Triple Crown winner in 1978. Let's get some of his insight now.
Steve, thanks so much for joining us. So, who's going to win?

STEVE CRIST, CHAIRMAN & PUBLISHER, "DAILY RACING FORM": Well, I'll tell you in about 45 minutes, for sure.

Funny Cide's bid is obviously the big story today. I personally think there's a horse in the race named Empire Maker, who could be better than Funny Cide. But you know, now we have this whole new random factor, of a very sloppy track. And you never know how horses are going to handle one until they try it.

KOPPEL: This is, for all intents and purposes, kind of the triathlon for horses. What do you think of Funny Cide's likelihood is? He's run this track, I guess, three times before. What's he likely to do -- and for that matter, the other five horses -- in mud?

CRIST: Well, Funny Cide is probably about -- has a 40 percent chance or so of winning the race. Eight other horses have been in the identical position over the past 25 years. None of them was able to do it. He has a couple of things going in his favor. He may not be the next great horse in American racing, but he only has to beat five horses. It's a small field.

And also, he's already proved that he can handle the wet track. The track was wet at the Preakness. Not this wet, but we know he can handle a little bit of moisture.

KOPPEL: We know that Funny Cide stands out from the crowd in another way, in that he's a gelding. What do you think this means for the race as a whole, for the racing industry as a whole if a gelding wins the Triple Crown?

CRIST: Well, you know, I think the best thing about Funny Cide is that he's a gelding. And it really doesn't matter that much whether he wins this particular race. I think what's more important is that we have a star race horse, who instead of being prematurely retired and whisked off to the breeding shed, is in position to come back and race year after year after year. He could still be racing when he's nine years old like John Henry was. So he really has the potential not just to be a Triple Crown winner but to become an enduring star and something of a folk hero in American racing.

KOPPEL: Why is it that so few geldings have won the Triple Crown?

CRIST: Well, you know, geldings weren't even allowed to run in the Belmont for 40 years, from about 1919 to about 1956, because the breeders wanted a stallion to win the race. So not very many have had the chance. In fact, he's the first gelding to win the Kentucky Derby since 1929. So, no gelding has ever been in the position that he's in today.

KOPPEL: What are the odds right now, for Funny Cide and you had mentioned the next, I guess the closest horse. Is it Empire Maker, who has the best odds next to him?

CRIST: Empire Maker is the second choice. I can't see the tote board were I am right now, but Funny Cide is expected to somewhere in the neighborhood of four or five to even money, by the time the race goes off. With Empire Maker the second choice at six to five or seven to five. I think most people do perceive this as a two-horse race.

KOPPEL: How much of this -- I had sort of alluded to this in my earlier question but how much of a horse being able to sweep the Triple Crown is due to the horse itself or due to just luck, due to the conditions of the race, due to the jockey?

CRIST: Well, you know, you have to be two things. You have to be very good to win these three very different races in the space of just five weeks, but you also have to be lucky.

There are horses who deserve to win the Triple Crown, who stepped on a safety pin the morning of the race, or suffered an injury during the running of the Belmont. So, you really need to do both things. But somehow the gods of racing have taken care of it, that only very good horses do win the Triple Crown. You know the last three horses who won it, Secretariat, Seattle Slew and Affirmed, are probably the three greatest horses of the last 30 years.

KOPPEL: You sort of skirted away from my earlier question, so I'm going to be a little more specific this time around? Where is your money?

CRIST: Oh, Empire Maker, absolutely. When a horse has a 40 percent chance of winning and he's paying off at less than even money, you're supposed to bet against it. That's what gambling is all about.

KOPPEL: So, you have nothing, absolutely nothing, on Funny Cide?

CRIST: Nothing but my good wishes. And if he does it I'll lead the cheers.

KOPPEL: OK, Steven Crist, thank you so much for joining us there. We'll all be tuning in, in about a half hour.

CRIST: Thank you.

KOPPEL: Steven Crist with "The Daily Racing Form".

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired June 7, 2003 - 18:05   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN ANCHOR: Before you go to the window or onto the web and plunk down money for Funny Cide, you might want to hear from an expert first. Steve Crist is chairman and publisher of "The Daily Racing Form". He's been following the ponies for 25 years, since the last Triple Crown winner in 1978. Let's get some of his insight now.
Steve, thanks so much for joining us. So, who's going to win?

STEVE CRIST, CHAIRMAN & PUBLISHER, "DAILY RACING FORM": Well, I'll tell you in about 45 minutes, for sure.

Funny Cide's bid is obviously the big story today. I personally think there's a horse in the race named Empire Maker, who could be better than Funny Cide. But you know, now we have this whole new random factor, of a very sloppy track. And you never know how horses are going to handle one until they try it.

KOPPEL: This is, for all intents and purposes, kind of the triathlon for horses. What do you think of Funny Cide's likelihood is? He's run this track, I guess, three times before. What's he likely to do -- and for that matter, the other five horses -- in mud?

CRIST: Well, Funny Cide is probably about -- has a 40 percent chance or so of winning the race. Eight other horses have been in the identical position over the past 25 years. None of them was able to do it. He has a couple of things going in his favor. He may not be the next great horse in American racing, but he only has to beat five horses. It's a small field.

And also, he's already proved that he can handle the wet track. The track was wet at the Preakness. Not this wet, but we know he can handle a little bit of moisture.

KOPPEL: We know that Funny Cide stands out from the crowd in another way, in that he's a gelding. What do you think this means for the race as a whole, for the racing industry as a whole if a gelding wins the Triple Crown?

CRIST: Well, you know, I think the best thing about Funny Cide is that he's a gelding. And it really doesn't matter that much whether he wins this particular race. I think what's more important is that we have a star race horse, who instead of being prematurely retired and whisked off to the breeding shed, is in position to come back and race year after year after year. He could still be racing when he's nine years old like John Henry was. So he really has the potential not just to be a Triple Crown winner but to become an enduring star and something of a folk hero in American racing.

KOPPEL: Why is it that so few geldings have won the Triple Crown?

CRIST: Well, you know, geldings weren't even allowed to run in the Belmont for 40 years, from about 1919 to about 1956, because the breeders wanted a stallion to win the race. So not very many have had the chance. In fact, he's the first gelding to win the Kentucky Derby since 1929. So, no gelding has ever been in the position that he's in today.

KOPPEL: What are the odds right now, for Funny Cide and you had mentioned the next, I guess the closest horse. Is it Empire Maker, who has the best odds next to him?

CRIST: Empire Maker is the second choice. I can't see the tote board were I am right now, but Funny Cide is expected to somewhere in the neighborhood of four or five to even money, by the time the race goes off. With Empire Maker the second choice at six to five or seven to five. I think most people do perceive this as a two-horse race.

KOPPEL: How much of this -- I had sort of alluded to this in my earlier question but how much of a horse being able to sweep the Triple Crown is due to the horse itself or due to just luck, due to the conditions of the race, due to the jockey?

CRIST: Well, you know, you have to be two things. You have to be very good to win these three very different races in the space of just five weeks, but you also have to be lucky.

There are horses who deserve to win the Triple Crown, who stepped on a safety pin the morning of the race, or suffered an injury during the running of the Belmont. So, you really need to do both things. But somehow the gods of racing have taken care of it, that only very good horses do win the Triple Crown. You know the last three horses who won it, Secretariat, Seattle Slew and Affirmed, are probably the three greatest horses of the last 30 years.

KOPPEL: You sort of skirted away from my earlier question, so I'm going to be a little more specific this time around? Where is your money?

CRIST: Oh, Empire Maker, absolutely. When a horse has a 40 percent chance of winning and he's paying off at less than even money, you're supposed to bet against it. That's what gambling is all about.

KOPPEL: So, you have nothing, absolutely nothing, on Funny Cide?

CRIST: Nothing but my good wishes. And if he does it I'll lead the cheers.

KOPPEL: OK, Steven Crist, thank you so much for joining us there. We'll all be tuning in, in about a half hour.

CRIST: Thank you.

KOPPEL: Steven Crist with "The Daily Racing Form".

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com